Ancalagon the cat
by Rogercat
Summary: When Dior and Nimloth gets a cat, they also find a way to bring Eärendil's poor social skills into the mess
1. Chapter 1

_**Cats and Guests**_

For most part, Dior Eluchil and his wife Nimloth was pleased with their new life in Valinor. After a shared rebirth in the Gardens of Lorien, they had found a remotely located cottage to live in, since the memories of being the King and Queen of Doriath was too painful. and neither husband or wife was the sort of person who enjoyed large crowds anyway, Dior for that he had grown up in Tol Galen and Nimloth had always prefered a quiet life. Their twin sons had finally gotten the chance to grow up in peace, becoming two fine young Elves in the ways of life.

Yet things was not fully perfect. Their daughter Elwing, who had only been familiar with them though the stories and memories of other people such Celeborn due to Nimloth being Celeborn's niece, found it hard to connect with her parents as real, living persons. It did not help that Elwing had became the new ruler of the refugees from Doriath while still being a toddler on only three years, and thus had grown up in a position she was too young to fully understand about its duties and responsibility.

This was what Dior had been thinking about for the past week, after that Elwing had managed to get her own husband Eärendil with her on a rare break from his duties up in the sky.

"I hate to say it, but our daughter really got her life messed up by becoming Queen at a young young age, among other things she did not understand at that time."

He closed the book he had been reading, a book originally written for young children who learned about ordinary animals in the wild, with a deep sigh. The reason to why he did not read a book meant for adults was fairly simple, and not only due to an hopelessly irregular teaching of basic skills such as reading, writing and counting in his childhood, Elrond had after long observation realized that Dior actually was one of the rare Elves who suffered from dyslexia.

"Tell me if there is something on your mind, dear," Nimoth requested after arriving with two cups of hot tea from the kitchen.

"Mostly that Eärendil did the mistake of bringing peanuts again here on his last visit with Elwing," Dior responded in a unhappy tone. Dyslexia was not the only problem which Elrond believed to be partly caused by Dior's lineage as well the fact that Luthien and Beren had been dead before returning to life and getting their son, Dior also suffered from peanut allergy as an unmistakable proof of his human blood from the House of Bëor though Beren, which also happened to have been passed down to some of Elros' various descendants over the past Ages.

"Oh, yes. And he even had the nerve of being rude about it this time!"

Nimloth and Dior tried to accept Eärendil for all his flaws and such, being their son-in-law and all, but the son of Idril and Tuor had, unfortunately, inherited some of the pride from his maternal grandfather Turgon, as well coming off as somewhat aloof due to not exactly...needing _social skills_ up in the sky. It did not help that Eärendil apparently had been blessed to not inherit any health issues from his mortal blood, which made Dior feel as if the younger Half-elven made fun of his allergy simply to prove himself superior.

"Sometimes I felt that perhaps it was for the best that our grandsons was raised by Maedhros and Maglor, because Eru know how they might have turned out with that kind of parenting Elwing and Eärendil would have done."

With the way both Elwing and Eärendil tended to be aloof at times as well with Eärendil being away on his long sailings while she was busy with her duties as queen, neither one liked to imagine how their grandsons would have grown up.

"Master! Mistress! There is forest mice out in the wheat storage again!" one of their few servants called in distress, and once again the whole household had to deal with one of the biggest problems for them.

Once all the forest mice had finally been dealt with, Nimloth moved her hands as if she wanted to strangle someone.

"I do not care about that Eärendil hates those creatures due to that an grumpy old cat scratched him as a child before the Fall of Gondolin, we are getting a cat to ensure that our wheat and other food supplies are left alone in winter!"

That Dior and the servants had to agree about. This cottage was not where Elwing and Eärendil lived, and as rarely-visiting guests, they had no say in the decisions made here.

~X~X~X~X~X~X

Despite how things had been in the past, the Fëanorians had somehow managed to come to a agreement with Dior and Nimloth:

They would try to ignore the events that had led to the Second Kinslaying, and in return give each other a chance to at least be some form of allies if not directly friends. This had proved very useful, since it was not unheard of that Dior could be viewed as an unworthy heir to his parents because of things what actually had been out of his control. Of course, there was also the whole story with Luthien and Celegorm in Nargothrond that people tried to debate, too.

As such, it happened to be Celegorm who got a odd request in a letter while he was in the Woods of Oromë. It was rare for him to get any letters from Dior, but this were a special case.

"A cat to help with keeping forest mice away from the food and preferably also which can poke holes in someone's ego?"

Of course, as a hunter, Celegorm was not blind to how mice and rats could become a pest if there was no cat to hunt them. If you did not have enough food over winter and lived far away from the nearest village with a market, you risked starving. Besides, if it now also would be a good way to annoy the grandson of Turgon…

A few weeks later, a unplanned guest showed up at the doorstep to the cottage with a large hound at his side.

"Hello. Sorry for taking some time, I wanted to find a good cat that would fit into the household."

There was some meowing hissing sounds from a wicker basket with lid, which was tied behind his saddle.

"Thanks a lot for the help, Celegorm. Yes, it seemed odd that we reached out for your help, but if people learned that we wanted a cat, a lot of people would try to find their way here to show off those..._fancy_ cats that can be brought from cat breeders."

Celegorm made a face. For whatever reason, it was a on-going trend with cats as pets to wealthy people here in Valinor, and breeders who tried to create new cat breeds that had no function at all other than being eye ornaments. Personally, he preferred the big, muscular, long-furred ones that could be found in the north of Valinor near Formenos, those who was begotten the natural way and skilled hunters.

"Yeah, just took some time to geld this one and then have him heal from that operation, given your request to not have a cat that could overwhelm the local forests with unplanned kittens."

It was perfectly fine to let nature have its cause, but given how fertile cats was, unplanned kittens could be something of a problem.

"Alright, let's this one come out now. He does not sound very happy over the way he had to travel."

Nimloth opened the lid, only to find a huge black shadow jump out. With a small scream of surprise, she fell over on the floor in order to not get her face clawed.

"Wow, he is huge!" Dior said in awe at seeing how big the cat was, after the first shock had passed. Indeed, the very size was something which would be "unfashionable" among the nobles, since it looked to weight around ten kilo in weight thanks to being a fully grown male cat, the long fur would be a nightmare for anyone who did not want to spend time on grooming, and the yellow eyes was watchful. Yet a slice of offered ham seemed to be accepted as a treat from his new owners.

"Yes, since you did not care about any colour on the fur, I thought it would be funny if Eärendil got scared by a black ghost."

"Black ghost, you say?"

Nimloth and Dior looked at each other, before smiling in agreement.

"_Ancalagon_."

Celegorm, who realized the their plan, howled in laugher. A cat named after the dragon Eärendil was famous for slaying in the War of Wraith, was going to be fun.

~X~X~X~X~X~X

It did not take long for Ancalagon to be accepted into the household, as he proved himself very useful both in the art of keeping mice away during winter and even birds from the newly planted crops in front.

The cat was not a cuddle bug, but enjoyed to be clapped from time to time by everyone and gladly scratched from time to time if there was some place he didn't really get to reach with the claws on the back paws. Dior often found himself more or less stuck on the sofa if he happened to be reading a book, if Ancalagon chose his lap for a nap, given how heavy he could be. Nimloth came up with the idea of using Ancalagon as a good counterweight whatever they needed to straighten out bedding and carpets after a big cleaning, since the big cat tended to sleep pretty much everywhere and why not use that he often jumped around on anything that they had not picked up yet?

Eluréd and Elurín loved the cat after the first meeting a few weeks after that Celegorm had delivered him, and Ancalagon accepted the young Elves in return for playing with him, or just plain proving themselves to be almost the same good breathing "pillows" for him to sleep on as their father.

At the end of summer, Elwing arrived for a visit again. And this time, she had managed to bring Eärendil with her.

"The birds complained on the way here that you and Adar has gotten a cat, Nanaeth."

Again that formality which Nimloth secretly hated to be addressed with, but hid it behind a gently smile.

"It was the best way to keep our wheat and crops safe from mice, dear."

Since Ancalagon currently was sleeping in tbe master room, the first impression of the huge cat was going to be a surprise for later.

"Well, did you get the cat from the same breeder as Idril and Tuor? They brought it a few years ago, a lovely female."

However, as Eärendil opened a bag of nuts while Elwing talked, Dior felt the smell of peanuts and began to wheezing as a reaction to his allergy.

"We have told you to not bring those damn nuts into the house! Stop treating Dior as if it is just a harmless prank!" Nimloth screamed, slapping the bag away from Eärendil's hand and out though a opened window. Then she grabbed her husband, pulling him out from the living room in the hope of that some distance would be enough for him right now.

"It is not my fault that he gets ill..."

Yup, Eärendil really did not have the best social skills after so long time up in the sky.

"Damned spoiled prince of Gondolin…" Dior muttered between his wheezing and coughing, again wondering just how just pampered Eärendil had been as a young child by the royal court of Gondolin as the only grandson to their king.

A annoyed meow over all the noise came as Ancalagon left the master room as Nimloth helped Dior inside, and the nearly soundless movements of paws on the floor. Then a loud yell of terror was heard from Eärendil, as Ancalagon happened to look nearly identical to the cat who had caused his dislike for cats, only with the difference that the long-dead cat had been having white spots and more grey in the fur from high age.

"Oh sounds like Anacalgon realized that he is the reason behind your current state of health."

Ancalagon was a smart cat, and had even figured out that his favorite male Elf could not be around peanuts or risk getting horribly ill. So naturally, with the smell of peanuts on Eärendil's breath, the cat saw it as his duty to punish this unknown Elf for disrupting the order in his territory. Eärendil's fine robes got turned into confetti by the sharp claws, while the terrified Elwing did her best to save her husband.

"Get this blasted beast off me!"

Given that the servants had seen the peanuts and knew how their master tended to react on them, the younger Half-elven couple did not help any help about Ancalagon.

That was, until that the twins entered the cottage. They had heard their mother scream about the peanuts, and then their brother-in-law's terror at finding himself at Ancalagon's displeasure.

"Anca, we have a fresh bird for you!" Elurín called, holding out a stock dove which was so fresh that it was still dropping blood from the fatal wound in the chest with arrow. The cat, who never could resist a such treat, left a trembling Eärendil on the floor behind in favor of snatching the bird from the older twin and jumping up in the window to enjoy the prize.

"Anca?" a confused Elwing asked her brothers, while helping her husband to stand up again on his own feet.

"Ancalagon," Eluréd explained with a grin.

"_**They named that cat monstrosity after that bloody dragon?!**_"

And with that information in his mind and said cat giving him a haughty glare from the window, the son of Idril and Tuor fainted in horror on the sofa.

"Wimp," the silver-haired sons of Dior and Nimloth commented as one, much to the displeasure of their sister, thinking that Ancalagon had proved himself a good bodyguard for their father.

~X~X~X~X~X~X

Naturally, given the first impression of each other, it was safe to say that Eärendil and Ancalagon grew a mutual dislike. Eärendil for how he found a new reason to dislike cats, while Ancalagon tended to jump on Eärendil at every visit to ensure that peanuts never came close to Dior again.

"Well, you are doing good work in teaching Eärendil some much-needed reminder about what means with social skills," Nimloth laughed while giving Ancalagon a extra slice of ham as treat, the cat laying in a comfortable position that was warming up Dior's feet under the quilt at the same time. He did hide his face behind a book, but Nimloth knew that he was grinning over her words. Eärendil now only visited once a year and Elwing maybe once or twice, for both the younger Half-elves was terrified of the huge black cat, so well-named after the largest dragon ever seen in Arda.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Voles, in-laws and family life **_

It was rare for Dior to fall sick nowadays when he had chosen the immortality of the Elves, unlike how it could be back in the First Age, but it could still happen. Nothing too bad, merely a light fever no one in the household could guess the reason behind, but he did wake up in the middle of the night at feeling that he was thirsty.

"Oh, I emptied the pitcher earlier already…" he realized in a half-awake state, at finding out that there was no cold water left to drink.

When he entered the kitchen, a purring was heard from near the kitchen door to the outer yard. Ancalagon must have come inside though that cat flip they had built last year, so that huge black cat did not need to wake up half the household with his loud meowings from a window while demanding to be let inside again. For some reason, Dior had a nagging feeling of that he needed to look around on the floor, sometimes there could be dead mice or other kind of unwanted "gifts" Ancalagon had brought home from a hunt to show.

"Anca? Remain still so I can light the candle and not trip over you…"

Ancalagon might be huge and his black fur made him visible in good light, but he was a master of blending in with the most darkest of shadows in the kitchen by night, with only his golden eyes as warning to where he could be.

Of course Dior had been right. A big vole was laying there on the floor, stone-dead.

"Hah, Anca? Do you find me and Nimloth such horribly bad hunters that you have to catch something to feed us?"

In response, the huge cat began to play with the dead vole as if trying to show how he had caught and killed it before bring it home.

"I distantly recall trying to have a talk with you about leaving your catch outside, at least. Do you even bother to remember that the kitchen maid is the one who has to toss out your kill and scrub the whole floor clean with soap and warm water before she can start making breakfast? Because it is not very nice with dried blood and brain matters on the floor, you know. As I happens to have mortal blood in my veins, despite choosing immortality at my rebirth, I am more sensitive to things that can spread disease."

Naturally, Ancalagon ignored his owner in favor of the vole. But Dior decided to save the kitchen maid extra work in a few hours and opened the kitchen door before using a shovel from the outside to toss out the vole, Ancalagon following after the dead monster prey.

Thanks to that the house was built with water pipes fitted with taps, and a part of it heated up from the various fireplaces though some form of central heating that Dior had no idea of how it was built, he did not need to go outside to bring in water from the well.

"Might as well clean the floor…"

The kitchen was not that big, as it was only Dior, Nimloth and a few household servants living in the house. Besides, it was hardly the first time Dior had found himself taking much longer than planned to return to bed in the middle of night for some unexpected reason.

When he finally arrived back to bed, Nimloth muttered in her sleep:

"What did Anca bring in this time?"

"_**A fucking vole,**_" was all Dior said before he laid down on his side of the large bed, returning back into sleep almost right away since he was tired after the cleaning. His wife made no reaction about the curse word, their cat tended to sometimes do things which annoyed the whole household, after all. And then there was all the times Ancalagon would do something that made him get likened to the dragon he was named after…

~X~X~X~X~X~X

It was nothing unusual with having visitors sometimes question their choice of cat.

"Really. if you wanted a cat, I would have recommended the breeder where we brought Snowlily," Idril commented, where she was seated on the sofa with a female cat in her lap. For whatever reason, this cat owned by his mother seemed to be the only cat that Eärendil could accept being around, which might explain why he had brought his parents along today when visiting his parents-in-law together with Elwing.

"We wanted a cat that can keep mice, rats and other vermin away from our storehouse where we keeps our harvested crops over winter. That white cat lady on your lap looks more like she would be scared at the mere sight of a mouse," Nimloth muttered under her breath.

Ancalagon was from a breed found in the north of Valinor, famous for what some people would call "forest winter demons", because they could be semi-feral if they did not get used to life as domestic cats at an early age. Being a long-haired breed infamous for their size, did not help those natural-bred cats win any favor among those who preferred the slender, short-furred cat breeds that had slowly been bred to almost become refined couch potatoes, according to other Elves who saw those cats as living ornaments for people with a lot of money. After all, the royal families tended to be trendsetters in nearly everything that the nobles could do as well and Idril was no exception.

"Aw, come on, those cat breeds are not that bad…and Snowlily is a sweet girl, look at how she makes Eärendil relax," Tuor tried to change the subject, seeing his son absent-minding petting the cat held by his mother.

For all of that they were relatives by marriage, the former Princess of Gondolin with her now formerly mortal husband tended to not get along so well with the former King and Queen of Doriath. Some of it was because of a difference in personalities, culture differences and such, but if all four had to agree on something, it was that neither couple would have agreed to have Elwing and Eärendil be the natural first choice as a spouse for their child nowadays. Idril and Tuor had known their future daughter-in-law from childhood, but death had not allowed Dior and Nimloth the same chance to see if he would match their only daughter in personality. The two Half-elves had once wed to bring the refugees of Sirion together under a single line of rulership, all the way back in the First Age but nowadays, it was impossible to see that they might actually have been too young at the wedding, their bodies mature but their minds still somewhat too immature to really understand the meaning of being married to each other for the rest of their lives.

"We will not throw out Ancalagon to get a different cat. If Eärendil have a problem with him, well, this is not his home."

Idril and Tuor looked deeply offended on behalf of their son, but Dior had a good point; This was the home of Dior and Nimloth, not Eärendil and Elwing, which gave them have the final say in the decisions made in the household. As if Dior had said a summoning spell, a deep meow was heard from one of the beams on the ceiling where Dior had fixed a hole for Ancalagon to climb around between the different rooms and Eärendil tensed up at once.

Then hell broke loose in the living room as Ancalagon spotted Snowlily from his lookout post and naturally had to chase her out of _**his**_ territory. The huge tomcat may be gelded to avoid unwanted kittens around, but when it came to chasing out other cats, he was a legend among the families in the small village that lived close. It was not without reason that his breed was infamous for violent fights if one cat strayed in on another's territory.

"Anca, be nice so the servants will not have to clean up a mess," Dior said calmly, while the two cats ran out from the living room, Idril desperately following after because she feared for her pet. Nimloth did not say anything, she knew that the worst damage Ancalagon would do, was to scare Snowlily half to death and chase her up in a tree somewhere in the front yard. And the female cat was white in her fur colour, so Idril should be able to see where she ran off to in the attempt to escape Ancalagon.

"Tuor. Please be kind and take your family back to the inn in the village as soon as possible. I fear that there will be no peace here unless Snowlily is taken away and there is also the fact that Ancalagon and Eärendil really does not get along…" Nimloth requested, trying to not directly sound like she was kicking out the guests from the house.

He did not need any more hints, especially at now hearing Eärendil scream in horror as Ancalagon attacked him from somewhere.

Once Idril had managed to bring down a terrified Snowlily from the house roof of all places, and Ancalagon locked inside a closet to give Eärendil enough time to escape from the house, peace returned to the household.

"Well, they only have themselves to blame for bringing along that cat. Of course Ancalagon has to defend his territory from intruders."

The servants agreed with their lady, even if they had to set things back on their proper places and sweep up the not-so-mourned remains of a badly painted vase gifted from Elwing last year, where the two cats had been running around.

~X~X~X~X~X~X

Thankfully, there was other relatives of his owners that Ancalagon accepted with no trouble. Their grandson Elrond and his wife Celebrían was two such persons.

"Amazing how Anca hates Eärendil but is perfectly fine with his son."

Personally, as his wife was petting a purring Ancalagon between them on the outside bench, Elrond guessed that it was because he was used to pets, since there had been many generations of cats and dogs in Imladris during the years he had been its Lord. Besides, Amon Ereb had needed cats to keep away mice and rats from its food storage, alongside some good guard dogs and hunting dogs, which he and Elros witnessed while growing up.

"I think their different personalities and behavior around you two also help," Celebrían suggested, recalling one really awkward family dinner a few years ago when Elwing and Eärendil insisted on gathering their closest kin, and how Dior and Nimloth had been awfully uncomfortable over needing to leave their comfortable home in the woods for staying a week in what strongly reminded of a palace with rooms for everyone, rented by Elwing for the family gathering without thinking of first questioning her parents if they would have preferred to rent a room at a inn instead. The Second Kinslaying had caused a deep-seated fear of larger crowds in them both, which made it awkward everytime Nimloth and Dior had to come to the major cities.

"Thank Eru for that. Our daughter and her husband are enough drama queens both together and alone."

No, it was really well that many members in the family was more level-headed, and used to cats. Sure, Ancalagon could surprise people who did not expect his size ot name, but he was not someone to attack guests randomly either.

"Right, shall we test some of those cookies I have done from a new recipe? Elrond requested my help in trying to make sweets that is made with less sugar and somewhat more healthier," Celebrían offered while reaching for a small wicker basket at her left. She hurried to say that no, there was no ones made with peanuts among the cookies, because she knew about Dior's allergy to them.

"Always a joy to have family members by marriage that actually uses their head about various situations," Dior smiled at his daughter-in-law, who knew a few things about mortals and their illnesses thanks to having Elrond as a husband. Celebrían would perhaps not count as a nurse, but she would know a few basic treatments if it was something minor, and not something dramatic that requested a operation or similar bad injury.

The cookies was wonderful with the freshly made tea Nimloth brought from the kitchen, and all four enjoyed the fine summer weather. Ancalagon was sleeping peacefully, looking like a innocent giant ball of black fur where he now had curled up for a nap between Elrond and Celebrían.


	3. Chapter 3

**Simple joys in life **

Today was a lovely day in late spring with sunny weather, and Dior planned to surprise Nimloth with a new gift he had made by his own hands.

"A secret flower garden might not sound that much of a new idea to show how I love my wife, but some of the flowers should have been able to survive in the forest at least."

The married couple loved their quiet life here in the woods, far away from the big cities in Valinor. Their time as King and Queen of Doriath had not been pleasant for either spouse, since Dior was not the most social person and Nimloth loathed the less than pleasant whispers about their marriage, such as their age difference and similar about his mortal blood.

"Ah, you want to come along, Ancalagon?" Dior greeted the huge black cat which had started to follow him. As a pet, the pair of owners loved the feline despite that he was no cuddle bug and for being a such great mouse hunter. It truly ensured that no forest mice dared to come inside the house again, as in the past before Ancalagon had joined the household. Besides, it was very funny to see people's shocked reaction on Ancalagon for both his massive size and the name they had given him, as a joke aimed towards Eärendil and the black dragon the cat shared his name with.

Most of the rose bushes had survived, and Dior was pleased to see that the lavenders had gotten strong too. He had aimed for flowers that would not be too heavy in scent, and allowing bees in the local area to get nectar for making honey later. The marigolds was bringing out some lovely spots of bright yellow and orange among all the wild flowers, as well.

"What do you say, Ancalagon? Shall we bring Nimloth here tomorrow for a nice picnic?"

The cat meowed from a bit further away without even looking at his male owner, as if saying that it was not his problem.

~X~X~X~X~X~X

Two days later, Dior started to prepare everything needed for the picnic in the kitchen while Nimloth enjoyed a bath. He knew from earlier that she would take a little longer today, since her feet needed a treatment of removing hard skin and trim all the nails as well. It was not often that she went barefoot, but with summer soon coming, she would do so in the fine weather.

"Anca, no, that fish is not for you. Hey, listen on what I tell you! No, that is not a extra snack for you!" Dior said at needing to pull something out of reach on the kitchen counter. Of course the huge feline aimed for one of the small fishes a servant had managed to catch in the nearby river yesterday.

Nimloth laughed from the door at the scene between her husband and their cat, as she just had finished the bath. Truly, it was amusing how Dior was not afraid of showing himself in a scene that would contrast so with his lineage. The son of Luthien and Beren, the formerly second King of Doriath, standing here in the kitchen making food with his own hands while making a friendly scolding on the black cat that often kept him sitting down by simply setting in his lap for a nap and indirectly use its weight on ten kilos.

"You and Anca are so funny to watch at times, do you know that, honey?"

Dior was still preventing Ancalagon from stealing the fish, but he took a moment to smile at her.

"Pleased to give you something fun to watch, my dear wife."

Behind his back, Ancalagon stole the last roasted chicken breast Dior had intended for the sandwiches before escaping out from the kitchen under Nimloth's loose bathrobe and they ended up chasing the cat under loud curses from Dior, that would have shocked high-born members of the royal court in Doriath if they ever heard him say those words, for swear words had not been viewed as suitable to say in a such environment as a sign of having gotten a fine upbringing.

"Well, life is never boring with Ancalagon around," Nimloth joked as the black furball of theirs escaped through a open window in the other end of the house and vanished into the stable, no doubt to enjoy his stolen treat somewhere in peace.

"If he does not want to come along on the picnic, I do not mind...," Dior muttered before being silenced by a kiss Nimloth placed on his lips. Perhaps the planned picnic would go well, after all.


	4. Chapter 4

**Feline bodyguard **

It was not planned that Ancalagon would come along with them to the nearest city when Dior and Nimloth could not postpone their necessary errands there, but the cat had been asleep in the carriage when their had started the journey and it was far too late to return home when the married couple discovered the free passenger.

"We will not be able to return home before dark if we turns around now! And surely it would be preferable to not have to stay overnight at a inn…"

Neither one liked the idea of staying longer than necessary in the city. The whole Second Kinslaying had left a deep fear of huge crowds for them, because of the very real terror of a enemy attacking from behind. Besides, it would not be the first time someone recognized Dior as his parents' son and tried something that placed him in the spotlight of unwanted attention from the people around him.

"Anca better stay around us, so we will not have to run across the city and seach for him…"

Hopefully it would not happen anything.

~X~X~X~X~X~X

A few hours later, Dior was almost done with what he needed to get in the city, items that could not be found in the village nearest to their home. No one had raised a eyebrow over that he had a hood over his head, there was some dark clouds in the distance that could promise rain later during the night and there was a surprising chilly wind for being late spring.

"Strange...I swear that I saw some people with the dialect of Doriath not long ago…as courtiers, they would realize my identity at once if they saw my face, but...it is a little odd that they have not tried to come closer..."

Only when Dior looked over a shoulder quickly, did he understand what kept the former courtiers at a safe distance:

Ancalagon was shadowing him, like a big, furry bodyguard despite that this city were a place the huge cat had never visited before. Did Ancalagon perhaps sense that both his owners did not actually like being here, and that Dior were the one who needed someone to keep him out of danger?

"You really are one of Oromë's mysterious long-lived animals, are you not, Anca? That would explain how smart you are, and where Celegorm managed to got you for us last summer."

The feline did not answer, naturally, but instead hissed a warning at the courtiers when they passed a little too close for Dior to feel safe about being able to pass by unnoticed. Ancalagon was a huge cat, which seemed to help making him seem scarier for those more used to the smaller cat breeds.

Thankfully Nimloth soon arrived, finished with her needed stuff as well, and together they hurried back to the carriage.

"Come on, Anca, we do not want you to be left here alone without knowing which way to return home."

The feline accepted some small fresh fishes as a snack to eat during the journey back home from Nimloth, so his owners could know that he was in the carriage when the horses started to move. And she also agreed with Dior that Ancalagon had been a good bodyguard without needing to fight.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Watcher in the night **_

Given that it was next to impossible to avoid that someone would reveal that they had been reborn, Dior and Nimloth knew that with their roles in the First Age, there was a huge risk of unwanted "visitors" trying to find their home. And the mere thought of their little private sanctuary being invaded by intruders, was not very pleasant.

"It is in situations like this, that I wish to have been the son of lord Aegnor and lady Andreth instead, if only for having a larger family that could help out in keeping such people away," Dior admitted while they returned from a ride out in the woods around their home.

"At least our sons got to grow up to adulthood in peace before it became more widely known that we four were reborn."

She was right, Eluréd and Elurín had managed to grow up into fine young Elves despite that they had chosen a house outside the small village. But the twins were happy as long as they could visit their playmates without their parents worrying too much and be students in the village school.

"Yes...oh, hello there, Anca."

The big, black feline had also returned home, and naturally he brought along a huge dead vole to show off for his owners. Of course, Ancalagon took his duty of catching vermin seriously, since it was one of the main reason to why the former king and queen of Doriath had wanted a cat in the first place.

"Not indoors with that dead vole, buddy, the maid need no extra cleaning of the kitchen floor today."

A displeased deep meow over that Nimloth blocked the cat door in the kitchen door with her legs, before Ancalagon brought the vole with him to the garden instead to have it as his afternoon meal there.

~X~X~X~X~X~X

It was in the middle of the night, as Dior suddenly woke up by a strange scent from the open bedroom window, which they had not closed in order to let in the cooler night air now during summer. It did not take many moments before he started to cough and wheeze from his peanut allergy being triggered by something out there.

"Dior?!"

Of course Nimloth sensed his distress though their marriage bond, and she was no stranger to the signs of his allergy acting up.

"Someone...out there..._peanuts_…" he gasped before pushing away the blanket to leave the bed, trying to push down the feelings of panic over not being able to breathe properly.

"_**MEEEEEEEOOOOW!**_"

Then Ancalagon let out a really loud yowl, the kind he always used to scare off intruders, followed by several unknown voices screaming out in terror. It seemed like some people indeed had been trying to sneak around the house, in the hope of finding out whatever Dior and Nimloth really lived there or if they were another random couple from the First Age who had chosen a life in seclusion from the outside world. Most likely, one of them had been eating peanuts not many hours ago given how Dior could still react on the scent of peanuts on someone's breath several hours afterwards.

"Ancalagon, get rid of those damn pests!" Nimloth called out though the window before closing it shut so the scent of the peanuts would not be tormenting her husband more. The former queen knew that the huge cat would scare off the intruders after giving them a painful punishment with his claws and teeth.

Normally Ancalagon was content to scare away unwanted visitors, but since he were smart enough to know that Dior reacted badly on peanuts and also heard the Half-elf reacting in the manner he always did whatever there was peanuts around or someone who had the scent of them mixed into their breath, so that meant he had to teach those unknown Elves a lesson.

Down in the basement, Dior soon felt better thanks to getting away from the peanut scent. A loud purring told the couple that Ancalagon had came indoors though the cat door in the kitchen and then followed after them downstairs.

"Thanks for scaring them away, Anca, it is always a pleasure to find new ways to joke about why you share your name with a famous dragon," Nimloth smiled at the cat while petting him, knowing that their friends and family members always enjoyed some form of jokes about this Ancalagon being a guardian of the night because cats were night creatures after all, or the famous dragon reborn in feline form. Dior were exhausted after the allergy trigger, but Ancalagon were satisfied with that his master was acting like a living pillow to sleep on under a short loupe, for all of that Dior protested about the weight.

"I think we need to request Celegorm if he and a few of his hunting fellows might be willing to be around those woods for a while. Just to scare off others who might try to do this as well."

"Gladly for me," Dior agreed from the platform bed, where he now was trapped under the duvet thanks to the huge cat. But Nimloth soon joined him and they fell back into sleep as Ancalagon once again patrolled around the house and its surrounding area.


End file.
